APSaint Mary's Omar Samhan celebrates his team's 75-68 win over Villanova in an NCAA second-round matchup. The Gaels advance to the Sweet 16.

By DAN GELSTON

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Omar Samhan was an unstoppable Gael force.

His
career isn't over yet - and neither is Saint Mary's NCAA tournament run
as the Gaels are improbably headed to the round of 16.

Samhan
played the game of his career on basketball's biggest stage, finishing
with 32 points and seven rebounds to lead 10th-seeded Saint Mary's past
Villanova 75-68 on Saturday and on to Houston for the South Regional's
Sweet 16.

Mickey McConnell stopped and fired
an arcing 25-footer that banked high off the glass to give Saint Mary's
a 68-65 lead with 1:15 left.

Samhan used a two-handed block to turn back Reggie Redding and McConnell made both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it 70-65.

The soldout crowd was well behind the Gaels (28-5). Saint Mary's will play Old Dominion or Baylor on Thursday.

Samhan stopped when he saw a familiar face near the locker room and shouted, "Did it really happen? We won? For real?"

The Wildcats (25-8) made an early exit a year after they played in the Final Four. They started 20-1 and collapsed at the end.

Scottie
Reynolds, who put Villanova in the Final Four last season with a
last-second basket against Pittsburgh, was a big reason why the
Wildcats are heading home early. He missed 9 of 11 shots and scored
eight points after a dud game in the tournament opener. He missed 13 of
15 against Robert Morris for a forgettable end to an otherwise stellar
career.

Tears streamed from Reynolds' eyes, his lips trembled as he tried to put the loss and his career in perspective.

"There's
no shame in losing," Reynolds said. "We came up against a great
opponent in a Saint Mary's team who just had our number. We're going to
hold our heads up high."

It was Saint Mary's time to go crazy.

The
Gaels danced around for the crowd in celebration. Samhan mugged for the
fans and tossed a loose ball in the air. He high-fived a ball boy and
they embraced for the biggest win in the program's history.

Samhan,
a 6-foot-11, 260-pound center, played perhaps the best all-around game
of anyone in the tournament so far. His 32 points where one shy of his
career high and he made 13 of 16 shots.

That's
when the Wildcats started doing what they do best - run and score on
the fastbreak. They rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit with
their transition game to tie the score at 51 on Maalik Wayns' perfect
pass through the defense to Antonio Pena for a layup. Pena made a free
throw for the tie, and Corey Fisher followed with a basket the next
time down for a 53-51 Villanova lead.

Neither team gave much the rest of the way.

Saint Mary's took a three-point lead when - bam! - the slumping Reynolds nailed his first 3-pointer of the game.

Matthew
Dellavedova made an acrobatic play as he dribbled, tripped, retained
his dribble, spun around Fisher and hit a 3. Wayns - the Philly
freshman seemingly built with a turbo-charged engine - sped to the
basket for a layup and sliced it to 64-63 with 3:29 left.

The score was frozen until Steindl made one of two free throws to make it 65-63. Wayns tied it on two free throws.

That's
when McConnell fired one that was felt from America to Australia - the
Gaels boast four Aussies on their roster - and had the Gaels pointed
toward the Sweet 16.

The only time the Gaels
advanced past the first round in the NCAA tournament was 1959 when
there were only 23 teams in the field. They beat Idaho State to advance
to the Elite Eight.

McConnell finished with 15 points and Dellavedova had 14.

The
Gaels held each of Villanova's top three scores to under double
figures. Fisher and Antonio Pena both scored nine points to join
Reynolds as a trio of underachievers. Corey Stokes led the Wildcats
with 15 points.